Clerks the Knowledge: Part 1 – the essentials
Trainer led
- Roles and Responsibilities of Clerk, Council, Chairman and Councillors
- Agendas
- Minutes
- Core Documents - standing orders, financial regulations, code of conduct, publication scheme
- Powers to spend - Duties of a Council
- Legal Advice and Guidance
Trainer-led and offered by GAPTC via Zoom for two hours. The full course takes place over a period of three months and costs £20 for members and £40 for non-members.
Clerks More Knowledge: Part 2 – a miscellany
Trainer led
- Planning - a brief introduction
- Core documents in detail including Standing Orders, Code of Conduct and Interests
- IT provisions
- Community Engagement
- Tiers of Government - who does what?
- Grant finding
- Continuing Professional Development
- Local Council Award Scheme
Trainer-led and offered by GAPTC via Zoom for two hours. The full course takes place over a period of three months and costs £20 for members and £40 for non-members.
Clerks more Knowledge: Part 3 – finance module
Trainer led
- Governance and Accountability
- Year-end accounts
- Budget setting and precept
- Financial Regulations
- VAT
- Borrowing
Trainer-led and offered by GAPTC via Zoom for two hours. The full course takes place over a period of three months and costs £20 for members and £40 for non-members.
Clerks' Networking
A networking opportunity for clerks offered virtually and in person at our year-end session. GAPTC invites a guest speaker to address clerks on a range of council-related topics and is looking forward to inviting clerks from councils to share experiences of their own successes and good practice. It is a wonderful opportunity for clerks to share their experiences with one another and talk through the challenges they often face. GAPTC uses these sessions to find out how we can better support councils and clerks. These sessions are an hour if offered virtually and are free. The year-end session takes place in person and costs £20 for members and £40 for non-members.
Please see the calendar for upcoming events and the newsletter for more details.
CiLCA - a level 3 qualification
The GAPTC Mentoring sessions provide tips on how to submit the portfolio
Where to find the information
How to demonstrate and understand the legal background
Reviewing the documents that have to be submitted
Enjoying the support of your fellow students
Delivered by CiLCA-recognised Trainer Jules Owen
2022 CiLCA Mentoring:
7 Sept from 9.30am - 2pm online
24 Nov from 9.30am - 2pm (face-to-face session at venue TBA)
26 Jan 2023 from 9.30am - 2pm (face-to-face session at venue TBA)
23 Mar 2023 from 9.30am - 2pm (face-to-face session at venue TBA)
The CiLCA Learning Agreement fee includes these 4 mentoring sessions
In order to book a place on this course, please book, using the online booking form, for the first date 7 September and you will then be sent a Learning Agreement, which needs to be completed and returned to GAPTC, together with the appropriate fee.
The fee is £235 for councils with an income up to £25,000 and £395 for those with an income of £25,001 and over. Please note that students must also register with SLCC who validate this qualification and the cost is £410. We recommend that SLCC registration is not done until after the GAPTC mentoring sessions start, when advice will be given about SLCC registration.
Report Writing for Local Councils
Trainer led, virtual
This is a new course designed for both clerks and councillors. The tabling of written reports to accompany agenda items is an increasingly common method of ensuring that councillors not only take fully informed decisions, but also that there is an audit trail showing that they have acted properly when taking such decisions. Reports also provide a snapshot of the council's thinking at the time that proposals were considered and are also a useful tool for considering confidential matters properly.
The course is being run by our colleague, Jake Atkinson (Chief Executive of Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils) and has already been successfully run in that area, receiving excellent feedback. Jake knows local councils very well and the course has been specifically written for parish and town councils.
The course will allow those tasked with writing such reports to do so effectively, and will cover:
- Types of reports
- Benefits of using written reports in decision making
- Who should write reports?
- What should be included?
- How to structure a council report
Offered by GAPTC